djoptix
Senior Retro Guru
"Do you want a bike?" said my boss. Naturally I said "Yes!" immediately, shortly followed by "how much?" and "actually Mrs Optix might have something to say about it...". "You can pay whatever you want for it, I just want rid of it, and it's a Raleigh. It's been sat in my garden for ages," he replied.
Well, I'd cycled to work that day so there was no way of viewing or recovering it that day. I said I would return tomorrow with the car. That night it was running through my head, thoughts of acquiring a pristine Ti frame for £1 alternating with worries about being faced with a plain-guage, rusty, unloved monster and feeling like I'd committed to taking it off his hands. My worry was compounded by the knowledge that he is an ex-used car dealer...
When I did go and see it I was quite relieved to find this. It's a 19.5" Pioneer hybrid sort of thing, with 700c wheels, full Acera (ouch) groupset and a nice silver paint job. It looks like it's been thoroughly neglected but hardly used. Brake pads and braking surfaces are as new, tyres still wear their moulding knobbles, and the saddle is unworn. However, the chain was rusted solid and there's plenty of surface rust elsewhere. The wheel bearings have survived but the pedal and BB bearings were graunchy, though the BB loosened up.
Does anyone have date info or maybe a brochure scan? I have amused myself by imagining the brochure...
"Here at Raleigh we've built the new Pioneer to reflect the fading glory of our brand. A rather nice 4130, English-built frame has been carefully covered with glue and dipped in the unsavoury depths of the Shimano parts bin.
"Acera cantis deliver consistently mediocre stopping power whatever the conditions, while Acera mechs front and back put the guesswork back into shifting. Unbranded bendy levers will make your hands ache, while the Gripshift system will provide constant, low-level dissatisfaction. The chainset helpfully lowers the centre of gravity by adding a great lump of metal down low, and is built of the softest recycled Far Eastern drinks cans, making sure that attempting to upgrade the pedals will strip the threads beyond repair.
"Speaking of the pedals, they are custom-hewn from a solid piece of low-quality plastic, and will increase the intensity of your workout by bending to absorb 50% of your pedalling energy before it reaches the cranks.
"But it's not all bad - we've topped off the build with cheap but bombproof hubs, which will at least allow you to push it to the tip after you've left it out in the garden for years."
It's not actually as bad as all that. I've given it a good clean, lube, replaced the chain, swapped the BB for a buttery-smooth one and put a new saddle on. I reckon it'll shape up to be a good off road pootler/zoom around town machine. Here's a picture of the rebuilt front end with new bars, stem, better levers and my Suntour thumbies. It just needs a thorough brake service and some yellow grips from CRC, and we'll be good to go!
Well, I'd cycled to work that day so there was no way of viewing or recovering it that day. I said I would return tomorrow with the car. That night it was running through my head, thoughts of acquiring a pristine Ti frame for £1 alternating with worries about being faced with a plain-guage, rusty, unloved monster and feeling like I'd committed to taking it off his hands. My worry was compounded by the knowledge that he is an ex-used car dealer...
When I did go and see it I was quite relieved to find this. It's a 19.5" Pioneer hybrid sort of thing, with 700c wheels, full Acera (ouch) groupset and a nice silver paint job. It looks like it's been thoroughly neglected but hardly used. Brake pads and braking surfaces are as new, tyres still wear their moulding knobbles, and the saddle is unworn. However, the chain was rusted solid and there's plenty of surface rust elsewhere. The wheel bearings have survived but the pedal and BB bearings were graunchy, though the BB loosened up.
Does anyone have date info or maybe a brochure scan? I have amused myself by imagining the brochure...
"Here at Raleigh we've built the new Pioneer to reflect the fading glory of our brand. A rather nice 4130, English-built frame has been carefully covered with glue and dipped in the unsavoury depths of the Shimano parts bin.
"Acera cantis deliver consistently mediocre stopping power whatever the conditions, while Acera mechs front and back put the guesswork back into shifting. Unbranded bendy levers will make your hands ache, while the Gripshift system will provide constant, low-level dissatisfaction. The chainset helpfully lowers the centre of gravity by adding a great lump of metal down low, and is built of the softest recycled Far Eastern drinks cans, making sure that attempting to upgrade the pedals will strip the threads beyond repair.
"Speaking of the pedals, they are custom-hewn from a solid piece of low-quality plastic, and will increase the intensity of your workout by bending to absorb 50% of your pedalling energy before it reaches the cranks.
"But it's not all bad - we've topped off the build with cheap but bombproof hubs, which will at least allow you to push it to the tip after you've left it out in the garden for years."
It's not actually as bad as all that. I've given it a good clean, lube, replaced the chain, swapped the BB for a buttery-smooth one and put a new saddle on. I reckon it'll shape up to be a good off road pootler/zoom around town machine. Here's a picture of the rebuilt front end with new bars, stem, better levers and my Suntour thumbies. It just needs a thorough brake service and some yellow grips from CRC, and we'll be good to go!
